Personal work...

I've found that even photography can become "work" in the sense that its routine and once you start and get really good at shooting one type of picture someone else wants you to do the same thing for them and before you know it... you're shooting wedding cakes for the rest of your life, not that there's anything wrong with that. But not only does this scare the living daylights outta me but there's an easy way you can avoid being pigeonholed all together.

Enter... Personal work

Personal work must be a major part of your photographic life and development. If I only shot things that other people wanted me to I'm pretty sure I'd go insane. Even though commercial work pays the bills it can't always let you grow and try out new things. That's why for as long as I can remember I would come up with my own projects and ideas and execute them on my own time. Being an advocate of personal work has allowed me to develop my current style and given me a much needed creative outlet for my overloaded brain. Its also what I feel can define the kind of photographer you really are, not necessarily what other people think you are but rather what kind of photographer YOU think you are. And who am I?? I think I'm just another guy with a camera who wants to shoot it all.

- JD




Here's a triptych from personal shoot that I recently did in the studio with friend and model Michelle Zieky... Shot with my Canon Mark IIDs 24-70mm using a simple ring flash.

As always you guys can check out the WEBSITE here... www.JamesDouglasStudio.com

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Lighting...

If you see a style of lighting that you like... you have to experiment with it... see what you can and can't mimic and once you get to a place where you think you have done what the artist has done... put your lil twist on it. Whether it's your subject, colors, little tweaks or however you create your own lighting solutions, the key is to keep playing and keep experimenting and eventually, hopefully people will start looking to your wok for inspiration.

Here's a shot that I recently did with a friend of mine that took me a good hour of prep and tweaking till I finally got it just right. I was going for a little ode to Annie Leibovitz when I started... going for that nostalgic look that she gets in a lot of her imagery but I wanted to put my own lil spin on it. 

- JD

Shot in my NYC studio with a Canon Mark II Ds at 1/250 and f/16... three light setup in an over head "triangle" with medium Photoflex softboxes on each.

Email me any questions... James@JamesDouglasShields.com

As always you guys can check out the WEBSITE here... www.JamesDouglasStudio.com

Follow me on TWITTER here... www.twitter.com/TheJamesDouglas

And LIKE something decent for once...  www.Facebook.com/TheJamesDouglasStudio

The Funemployed...

So with this cutthroat world of photography there is a lot of competition for original ideas, especially those that can be translated to a large audience of viewers and readers. I had one such experience working with TIME magazine and a project that I had dubbed "The Funemployed." Spoke with a photo editor there about the idea and she seemed to really be into it. I also went as far as to conduct the shoot on my own for them and hopefully they would print it or at least allow me to consult. The shoot went off without a hitch and the art was exactly what I had envisioned. I was told to hold onto the photos for the next issue, but when the next issue came... I saw that it was the exact idea that I had presented to TIME earlier in the year. At least i know that I can think on the same levels as the big guys... perhaps next time they'll give a young gun a shot before just stealing his idea, maybe.

- JD

Here are a few from the shoot...

 

 

As always you guys can check out the WEBSITE here... www.JamesDouglasStudio.com

Follow me on TWITTER here... www.twitter.com/TheJamesDouglas

And LIKE something decent for once...  www.Facebook.com/TheJamesDouglasStudio

The Oakley Test...

Got a call from my agent saying that Oakley might be interested in me to shoot some of their winter lifestyle stuff. They hire guys to shoot all manner of winter activities from drinking PBRs around a bonfire to hucking cliffs in the Andes. But they also do this for every season and they were curious to see if I can do any summer stuff. So I called up a friend of mine Will Konczynin who I know to be quite the wakeboarder and we went on a little excursion this past weekend. 

- JD

Here's a few from that.

 

 

As always you guys can check out the WEBSITE here... www.JamesDouglasStudio.com

Follow me on TWITTER here... www.twitter.com/TheJamesDouglas

And LIKE something decent for once...  www.Facebook.com/TheJamesDouglasStudio

Shootin with Shields...

With the new studio in tow I've had a bunch of my friends and friends of friends contact me to help them with their photo needs... its been an incredible time having all of you guys come by so here's a couple of my favorites from the last few weeks.

- JD

 

 

As always you guys can check out the WEBSITE here... www.JamesDouglasStudio.com

Follow me on TWITTER here... www.twitter.com/TheJamesDouglas

And LIKE something decent for once...  www.Facebook.com/TheJamesDouglasStudio

The James Douglas Studio

So many of you have been made aware of the fact that I've been talking about getting my new photography studio for years now... I've been looking and looking and found nothing that even peeked my interest until I found this place. Studio work has its ups and downs but as you can see, the new space is really doing wonders for my work and my sanity. Thanks so much to everyone who helped me out and come on by to visit. Here's a couple shots from Kate Powell's photo shoot we did just yesterday.

- JD

 

 

 

As always you guys can check out the WEBSITE here... www.JamesDouglasStudio.com

Follow me on TWITTER here... www.twitter.com/TheJamesDouglas

And LIKE something decent for once...  www.Facebook.com/TheJamesDouglasStudio

New Diggs...

As some of you may know, I have been looking for a new space to call my own and I'm proud to say that I have found it!! Its a 1600sf studio in downtown NYC. I'll be uploading pics and new work in there this August. My collaborative nature is giving me the urge to work with other artists and have the space be communal as much as possible. With the connections I have made so far here in New York I can't imagine it being difficult to fill the space with creative minds. Here's a pic I took with the handy dandy iPhone... more details to come soon.

James